Identities - Part I
by Applesith
Summary: Rey and Kylo Ren are sealed inside an ancient tomb and must fight, or unite, in order to survive.
Rey moved through the shadows in silence. She could not see him but she could feel his presence and she was not inclined to meet him just yet.

She had no recollection of the events that had followed her abduction from Ahch-To but the blood was still pounding at her temples and she felt sick. She remembered sensations. A terrible voice in her head, like the void itself calling to her, and a fight? Master Luke was alive. She did not know how she knew, she just did.

She looked around to try and make sense of her surroundings. Her captors had a flair for the dramatic. The crypt they had chosen was pitch black, except for occasional rays of light that peered through apertures in the cavernous ceiling. Whomever the owner of this sepulcher had been, he (or she) was powerful and pretentious enough to have their tomb carved into the mountain. On either side of the passageway, severe and rigid in their cloaks of stone, giant statues cast dreadful looks to inspire awe and fear in the hearts of the visitors. She did not recognise the race they represented but they were humanoid enough for her to know they did not look amicable. Something dark was lingering among them, something terrible and ancient. They wanted her to feel defeated, alone and scared but something in the girl was resisting and she was not ready to give up just yet.

She smiled to herself. Wherever light was touching the ground below, vegetation was flourishing, engulfing the stone and creeping towards the sun. Indifferent to the laws of man, nature could reclaim the most sterile environment. Inch-by-inch, patiently. She wondered how it had started. Could it be that a solitary seed, carried by the wind, had fallen on the floor of this harsh and cold habitat centuries ago and decided to take root? Or had it been transported by adventurers looking for treasures or dark apprentices in search of power, unaware that they were carrying life on their dusty mantles? The idea that life will always find a way was a comforting thought.

She looked down before catching hold of a trailing plant, ensuring it would not give way under her weight. She was trying to make use of the Force as much as her own eyes in order to progress through the shadows but the task was not as simple as she wished it to be. Kylo Ren's somber figure was barely detectable in this environment but the characteristic humming and red glow of his lightsaber were enough to give away his position.

Climbing here was no different than climbing a derelict destroyer back in Jakku. The walls were not made of oxidized metal but of stone that felt rough under her palms but the principle was identical: ensure you have grip, find the right balance, reach for your next target and first and foremost, never think of the fall.

An opening in the ceiling appeared above her. She looked up hoping to find an escape route but soon realised it was hopeless. The gap between the top of the statue and the chink was too wide. If only she had ropes and tools she would be out of this tomb and this twisted mind game in no time but her kidnappers had left her equipped only with a lightsaber and her wits.

Below, the dreadful humming resumed. She clutched the stone tighter, trying to make herself invisible. She was afraid he had finally sensed her presence but a few seconds passed and nothing happened. If she did not know better she would think the man was jumping at his own shadow.

She took a long breath before resuming her progression. She did not know how long had passed since they had been sealed off but as impressive as this resting place was, she had to face the truth, soon they would reach a dead end and she would be left with nothing but two choices: continue playing hide and seek until one of them dies of starvation or fight.

She needed to prepare mentally.

* * *

Supreme leader Snoke was displeased with his apprentice. After the loss of Starkiller base the Master of the Knights of Ren was in no position to plead for any favor, having difficulty explaining his recent and unquestionably tragic decisions. Snoke had resumed his training, demonstrating the power of the dark side before offering guidance and words of wisdom. The physical pain endured during their long sessions of sparing was nothing to Ren. The Supreme leader's words cut deeper than blades.

"Such a disappointment."

These had been Snoke's first words to him when he had regained consciousness on-board a shuttle, bloodied, defeated and overwhelmed. To add to the insult the first face he had seen was of this simpleton of Hux, towering over him. It was the second time Ren was bare faced in the presence of the General and the look on his face suggested a mix between disdain, disgust and something like...amusement? Images of him force-choking the smug rat face inundated his brain but he reckoned that he was in enough trouble already. Teaching Hux a lesson would accomplish nothing in this instant. His time, like the others, would come. Later. Instead he managed to sit up, feigning to ignore the gaping wound on his side. It was the only way he knew how to remind the ginger general that him, Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, was his better and that he ought to remember it. It looked like the message was heard loud and clear as the general blemished and moved aside, retreating in a corner of the shuttle, as far away as possible from the Force user. The jolt of pain was incredible and he would probably have passed out if he had not call on the Force to refrain from screaming his lungs out. Pain still tasted better than humiliation.

"I have failed you my apprentice."

"No. I...I did not follow your advice. I should have listened to you."

They did not need to face one another to communicate when necessary. Snoke was always there, somewhere, at the back of his head.

"Once your training is complete, you will not fail again. This I promise."

As always the Supreme Leader had been true to his words.

Ren knew the scavenger was observing him from above, that she had claimed the higher ground from the start and all he needed to do was to be patient. Like a fruit when ripe, she would fall at his feet. He was prepared for this moment. His determination would not falter. He would not throw away more than twenty years of his life, his destiny, for a girl, a nobody with no roots and no future.

It was his curiosity that almost killed him on Starkiller base."Compassion" Snoke had told him in the assembly chamber. It sounded like a very distant memory now.

The Supreme leader was wrong that fateful day. It was no compassion, it was curiosity. Until now everything was perfectly aligned, laid out, predictable, right. Then, something unpredictable had happened. He needed to know, he wanted to understand why Snoke himself had not perceived she was important until she had defeated him. Humiliated him.

Snoke was unequivocal: it did not matter who was victorious today. Either way the new Jedi would be destroyed all the same, once again.

Ren had made peace with the idea that his life meant naught to his mentor a long time ago but he could not help but wonder if Rey could ever truly supplant him one day. She was powerful and fierce, he knew as much, but the light inside her burned too bright. He was born to rule and impose his will upon others. She was born from nothing and only knew how to take care of herself. She was not what Snoke wanted, not what he was special, she was just an anomaly, a mistake of the Force. Killing her would adjust the natural order.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when the end of the hallway appeared. Before him only stood complete darkness.

He ignited his saber to produce enough light to study his surroundings and noticed a flight of stairs descending to what he could only assume to be the final resting place of the long dead, long forgotten owner of the tomb. Snoke had not confided in him the reasons why he had specifically chosen this place for his ultimate test. All he knew was that she would die here and he would finally be complete. If he was lucky, Han Solo would stop haunting his sleepless nights.

He took the first step down and a thousand years old mechanism came to life in a dreadful scream of rusty cogs and an ominous rumbling beneath his feet. Chains moved, far above him and a faint beam of light appeared, piercing through a circular opening that looked like an iris. It was just enough to illuminate the sarcophagus sitting on an elevated platform in the middle of the room. It was a simple square box with no carving, no name, no epitaph.

A mystery. An invitation.

* * *

Rey was trying to come up with a new plan. One that did not involve a frontal approach if possible. This did not look promising.

Despite their rocky beginning, Master Luke was a good teacher, a kind man, and she was starting to accept that these days the Force was an integral part of her life and identity. She was not blind though. Her training was incomplete. Her understanding of the Force limited and more importantly she lacked restraints. Living on Jakku required endurance, wits and perseverance. Being a Jedi required discipline, patience and peace of mind. On the backwater world she knew as home she had managed to preserve her purity and humanity as much as one could do, but she had seen things, witnessed cruelty, passions and despair; it was no place for the innocents and the faint of heart.

The old Jedi master had told her that, before their fall, the Order would only accept the youngest of the galactic species in apprenticeship. Older students were too easily distracted and tempted by the dark side. She had looked into his eyes and saw that, himself, he had doubts, nightmares and hidden pains. During the brief period she had spent with him on the remote island he claimed as sanctuary they had practiced meditation more than saber fighting and she had perceived the reasons why. Her Master was still hurt and afraid after all these years. Today she would be tempted to tap into the dark side again and she did not know if she would be strong enough to resist. The Jedi, despite his years of experience, shared that fear. That idea was not comforting.

From the cover of the shadows she peeked inside the burial chamber, hoping her nemesis had vanished. He had not.

Kylo Ren was sitting completely still on top of the sarcophagus, his arms resting on his knees, his signature lightsaber turned off, ready at hand. With the mask on she had no idea if he was meditating, sleeping or taunting her. If he had noticed her he did not show either and she spent long minutes studying him, waiting for a twitch, a spasm, any movement that would betray his state of mind. Seeing him like this brought back memories of their duel in the snowy forest of Starkiller base. Back then he was raw, unedged, hurt and wounded.

How things were different now.

Today he looked like a motionless machine. If she wanted to defeat him she needed to make peace with herself and the Force first. Back home she avoided contact with other scavengers because she knew that, despite what her heart dictated, she would do whatever it takes in order to survive. More than often the unspoken rule small people like her lived by on the planets of the outer rim was to kill or to be killed.

She sighed. Killing, even in self-defense, was not something she was looking for. If she was to live another day she needed to trust her instincts but avoid being reckless.

To regain focus she tried to remember the face of the young man under the mask.

On numerous occasions she wanted to ask Master Luke about his fallen apprentice. How a young, talented, loved and respected man could turn his back to the light? The question had died on the tip of her tongue more than once. She did not want to upset him. All she could think of was that, under the disguise, he was a man made of flesh just like her. He was also the man who, not so long ago, had taken the life of his own father and tried to kill her friends. That thought alone made her angry.

Their blades lit up simultaneously.

* * *

Ren had opened up completely and locked onto her presence before she even dared taking a peek inside the chamber. This time, to avoid detection, he had been careful not to invade her mind, lingering at the surface of things. In this state he was not able to decipher her thoughts but he was feeling her every emotions like they were his own. Snoke had insisted on this part of the training. Now he knew how the Supreme leader could read him like an open book when no one else could.

Her rage was so different from his he realised. It was colder, deadlier. All she wanted was to live, even if that meant taking the life of another human being.

He smirked.

She was no different than the rest of them after all. The difference between him and her was that he would not rejoice from taking her life. No one would congratulate him when returning to base unharmed. No drinks would be spilled to his victory nor stories told, embellished, exaggerated, about how the heroic knight had slain the misguided enemy of the First Order. Killing was not a pleasure, only a necessity, a mean to an end.

To his dismay she did not attack first. Instead she tried to remain calm, composed, while descending into the pit of the chamber. She was marching towards the platform slowly, deliberately, adopting a defensive stance Luke Skywalker had taught him too, a long, long time ago. To anybody else she would have appeared dangerous and lethal. To him, in this instant, she looked like a child trying to convince herself that the monsters under her bed are not real. He knew her hands were not as steady as they should be and that she felt weak at her knees. A part of him wanted to encourage her, to tell her to feel the Force flowing from tip to toes, to give her advice on her posture. The other part, the stronger part, wanted her to disappear.

He leaped towards her like a crazed animal and their blades met in a thunderous roar. He felt more powerful than ever and smiled when the scavenger gasped in surprise. In two moves he forced her further down into the chamber, cutting her access to the stairs and trapping her. Her panic filled his brain. It was exhilarating to feel his power and her helplessness at the same time.

She looked around for a way of escaping. Four giant statues were sitting at each corner of the room, bowing their heads in submission to the master of this tomb. If she could use the Force to dislodge a statue from its pedestal she may have a chance to make it out of here alive. There were only a few flaws in her plan: First, Kylo Ren was not going to pause his attacks for her to concentrate, second she could levitate rocks, not fancy twelve foot tall alabastrine effigies.

On her second day, Master Luke had commanded her to throw pebbles from the beach into the sea. She would never forget the look of disapprobation on his face when he had found her, a wide grin on her face, floating a rock as big as a TIE fighter pilot's helmet around the island. She thought he would be impressed, that he would be pleased that she was such a quick learner, but instead he had called her smug and complacent. After that she had followed his instructions to the letter.

Becoming a Jedi sure was not as fun as she envisioned.

She was going to take a deep breath and test her chance when she was interrupted by a vicious Force blow to her stomach. On Jakku she never had to think twice. When something needed to be done she would chose the reasonable course of action, the logical step to ensure her survival and minimise the long term consequences. Before the awakening, everything was coming to her naturally. After her brief training on Ahch-To she was less confident, more prone to second guessing.

Something evil was lurking in this tomb, she could feel it, she needed to be careful, cautious.

* * *

Ren recognised that feeling all too well. Hesitation, panic, feeling of inadequacy. His Jedi years were not forgotten, far from it. The long hours meditating, the physical and mental exhaustion of training, becoming strong with the Force while remaining humble.

Stronger. Humbler. Bitter.

Luke Skywalker was not the teacher Rey needed. If she was victorious today Snoke would make her a magnificent warrior, reveal her true potential. Of course, he would break her first. Her light would be consumed until there was just enough burning at the back of her heart, a vestige, a testimony of who she was and who she could have been. The Supreme leader knew the words.

To his surprise the thought disturbed him greatly. Enough to distract him at least.

The scavenger sensed his hesitation. She attacked.

It was a poorly executed move but it was enough to make him take two steps back. He tried to concentrate on her feelings. Her confidence was tainted with desperation, a dangerous cocktail he reckoned. He could feel a shift in her. Was it Snoke or an ancient evil lurking in the shadows? Someone was whispering at the back of her head, their words unavailable to him but guiding her hand. Something in her expression changed gradually. She was getting stronger. Back in the forest he had basked in her display of the Force, admired her serenity before feeling the intensity of her wrath. He was not going to do the same mistake twice. He needed to defeat her. She needed to die, there was no alternative.

He called on the Force and lashed out. The energy burst out of his body like a shockwave. Her body flew like a ragdoll and landed onto the platform, her back to the sarcophagus. He smiled a triumphant smile under the mask. It was the moment he had waited for. It was his invitation. His place in the center of the universe would be restored and she would go back to the nothingness where she belonged.

He landed gracefully onto the dais and looked at her. She was on the verge of falling unconscious. One kick and her lightsaber flew to the opposite side of the room.

He needed to know. He wanted to know.

He concentrated on her feelings once more. A powerful gloved hand gripped her neck and threw her on top of the sarcophagus. She tried to fight back, her small hands scratching at his but she was too weak. Her legs were dangling, kicking in the air in a desperate attempt to escape. Instantly the presence at the back of her head disappeared. She had been vanquished and the dark side does not care for the weak and the broken. She tried to call her lightsaber back but it did no bulge. He turned off his own weapon and let it fall to his feet. If it made a sound when it touched the ground, he did not notice. He needed to know. Who was she? His left hand still firmly clutching at her neck he leaned over her. Her eyes were moving rapidly in her eye sockets now, tears streaming down her cheeks. He was so close from her that he could see her labored breathing fogging-up his mask. He pushed away his own feelings, embracing the whole of her instead. He needed to know.

What was she feeling right now? Who was she?

That is when he fell inside her.

* * *

She was going to die. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. Not anymore. For a brief moment during the fight she had felt something otherly taking possession of her. It was alien, gross, but it was something she could use to win. When a mechanical device is broken you use tools to repair it. That is what is was offering to her, a tool, innocuous, a commodity, nothing to be afraid of. It was a compelling idea. Too compelling. Her life on Jakku had taught her that nothing ever comes for free. Everything can be traded and everyone tries to screw you over a ration, a sip of water, your freedom or your dignity. Whatever or whomever was bargaining a way out of this tomb through her was not her friend. She would rather die than let it take control.

By all means, she wanted to live. There was no doubt about that. She wanted to see the faces of her friends again. She wanted to say good-bye. She wanted to say I love you. She wanted to find her family. She wanted to explore the whole of the galaxy, to dance under the rain, to taste exotic fruits and to create treasures of discarded things.

Instead she was going to die in a dusty old tomb. She was not sad though. Dying free was better than becoming a puppet, to be used and discarded.

Kylo Ren was so close to her she could see her own breath fogging up his mask. She should have been angry at him for taking her life but in this instant she realised he was just a tool, an instrument owned by Snoke. All she could think of was "Is the price really worth it?"

He loosened his grip. She felt his hand slipping from her neck before his body collapsed to the floor as if all energy abruptly depleted. She welcomed the sensation of the air circulating in her lungs again but was too shocked to move. At her feet Kylo Ren was now struggling to unlatch his mask, his hands shaky and unsteady. When he finally managed to remove the apparatus he threw it as far as he could and looked at her, terrified.

As he was trying to crawl away from her she looked back at him, still trying to catch her breath. He wanted to scream and kick and cry but he was paralysed. Her eyes widen at his appearance: flushed, panting, disheveled and covered in sweat, a ghastly scar marking his face. Just a boy who woke up from a nightmare, afraid of the dark.

A voice erupted from the shadows. "Well, that was an unexpected turn of events." It was deep, rich, scary. They both jumped, their heads turning in perfect synchronicity to where the sound came from.

A man was approaching. He took an instant to pick up something from the floor before pacing toward the circle of light. He stopped, choosing to stay hidden in the cover of the darkness. It was too dark to see his face but Rey reckoned he was human, well built and very strong with the Force.

"What happened, Master of the Knights of Ren? You were so close." The way he spoke was deliberate, his articulation perfect, every word he used was carefully chosen.

"Who...who are you?" Rey managed to ask, her voice broken and coarse after having her windpipe almost crushed.

"I'm here to make sure one of you finishes the job," the man responded with a hint of contempt. "Catch girl!" he added before throwing something in her direction. It was her lightsaber.

"The Supreme Leader was right again. Your sentimentality will crush you like it crushed your grand-pop in the end." He paused, waiting for a reaction that did not come. "Or, you could kill her once and for all."

With her lightsaber back in hands Rey was unsure what to do. Kylo Ren was still sprawled at her feet, seemingly unresponsive to the stranger's taunts. It would be so easy to stab him in the back from where she stood. But what then? She had very little intel about the structure and hierarchy of the First Order. How many more men were hiding in the darkness? How many were waiting outside?

"Honestly, I don't care who comes back with me." They could not see his body language but they could tell he was shrugging. "I would rather you decide quickly. This place is...unsettling"

He was met by another long silence.

"Please?"

Rey did not know what was the most disconcerting. His eagerness to see them kill one another or the lightness of the tone he employed. Even Kylo Ren seemed to treat murder like it was something serious. She needed to do something quickly, before the situation got out of control.

The knight of Ren's body language changed. He stood up on his feet and straightened up. What he did next took Rey completely by surprise. Without shifting his attention from the intruder, he pushed her unceremoniously off the platform before igniting the weapon he had recovered at her feet. She fell hard on the floor and gasped for she was more confused than hurt.

"You don't really want to fight me Kylo Ren. What would be the point? Only one of you can come out alive. You know that. You've seen the future. You know how it ends. Take what is yours while you still can."

The Knight did not respond. Instead he dropped nonchalantly from the dais and slowly closed the gap between the man and him. As he was going to leave the circle of light created by the iris in the ceiling he turned to Rey.

"Go."

Hearing his voice, his unaltered voice made her blink. All emotion had left him. There was no animosity, no anger, no passion. He strangely sounded like Master Luke.

"Oh no, she's going to stay and enjoy the show. One way or the other!" the older man growled while retreating deeper in the shadows.

* * *

The two men were facing one another, pacing, stalking, circling around the chamber and Rey had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that she needed to run, to leave this wretched place and find her way back home. Her mind was screaming to go away but her body was frozen and refused to flee. Something or someone was preventing her to move beyond this room.

The stranger talked to her. His weapon was turned off and she wondered what color the blade would be. She squinted her eyes a little, trying to have a better look at him. It was pointless. All she could catch were glimpses. From a distance, masked by the shadows, he looked like a Jedi but she could not help but feel there was something off about his general appearance. For a start he was wearing odd robes. From the stories she heard and what she had seen on Ahch-To robes worn by Jedi were meant to be made of simple material, to look dull and modest. Even in the dark, illuminated by the reddish glow produced by Kylo Ren's lightsaber, his looked glossy, silky, the colours too bright, too garish. The man seemed to deliberately make of the Jedi dresscode a mockery.

"What of you girl? Are you going to be reasonable?"

She hated it when a man, especially an older man, used that word to address her. More than often the implications were all too clear. How many passing travellers on Jakku had made the acquaintance of her staff and the hard sandy floor for thinking she was weak, foolish, gullible?

"I'm no one's girl - old man," she responded defiant.

"Oh! Spirited, I see. I like that! Don't worry... padawan , the Supreme leader will make of you a truly remarkable woman. He loves us. All of us, for who we truly are."

His voice sounded like poisoned honey to her ears. There was something sweet yet rotten inside.

"Don't listen," Kylo Ren interjected, "he's using cheap tricks to make you believe his lies."

Shockingly enough Han Solo's murderer was right. It made her feel sick in her stomach to admit it.

"Am I? You know it's the truth Ren. Snoke knows you. He made you. Are you going to throw everything away for that womp rat who ruined your face and made you look like a fool? She doesn't know half the truth. She's been fed lies and fairy tales since she was born! Take your legacy back!"

"Silence!"

Kylo Ren was losing his cool. Rey recoiled at the memories of Starkiller base flooding her brain. Nothing good could come from this situation if he was losing control.

"And you? Are you trusting him now? You know what he's really after, what he really wants. What he'll do to you!"

A shiver traveled down her spine and her hand clutched tighter at the hilt of her lightsaber, a finger brushing the ignition button. He spoke words she did not want to say herself out loud.

"Liar!" Kylo Ren screamed with anguish before leaping toward the corner of the room, his fiery weapon drawn high above his head. The faux-Jedi must have had anticipated the move because he vanished just before the furious blow could touch him.

"If you want to play it like that Jedi killer…" the rich voice shouted back out of nowhere.

"I guess dishonesty runs in the family. What to expect from the son of a Rebel whore and a thief? It'll be my greatest pleasure to erase you from existence.

And you girl, don't move! You stay here!"

The compulsion was too strong to resist. She wanted to run away but she was paralyzed.

"How does he do that?" she asked herself aloud.

"Lousy Jedi mind tricks," came the voice of Kylo Ren from the shadows, "listen to my voice instead. I can guide you."

This was not a reassuring alternative to say the least. "You need a teacher," he had said on Starkiller base. What if today was just an act? An elaborate trap to mess with her mind and test her allegiance? She started to panic.

"Trust him," a different voice suddenly echoed in her head. It was familiar, yet estranged. She could not put her finger on it but she knew she had heard this voice before. It was speaking with a Coruscanti accent.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice then," she murmured. "What do I do?"

"The statues. Do you see them?"

"Yes", she responded with an obvious lack of confidence.

"Topple them all."

She blinked. "What? Are you out of your mind?" she bursted out. "I can't do that!"

"Yes you can," came Ren's response between gritted teeth.

A deep laugh echoed in the cavernous chamber.

"Is that you plan Jedi killer? What do you think is going to happen to you if the frightened little girl manages to throw her pebbles at us? You'll be crushed too."

"It does not matter as long as you finally shut your mouth!"

"How dare you? No, no, no!" the old man responded with anger. "Don't listen to him girl. I need your help! You hate him, he's everything you loath. You can't trust him."

She could not agree more with that statement but at this moment, if she wanted to come out alive from this tomb, she would walk the safest path. One step at a time.

It was quick to review the information and assess the situation. She had defeated Kylo Ren on Starkiller base, he had (for a reason unknown to her) spared her life today and Snoke was distrustful enough of him to send an assassin finish the job. If she was to tell this incredible, this preposterous story to Finn, Poe, Master Luke and General Organa, it was in her interest to forge a temporary alliance with her worse nightmare. After all, even fire sometimes holds cleansing virtues.

* * *

Ren was dying. Under any other circumstances the older man who pretended to be a Jedi would not have stood a chance against him in single combat. He lacked strength and relied too heavily on distractions and manipulation techniques. It was different this time. Every synapse of his brain and every fiber in his body were on fire and it was more and more difficult to pretend he was not going to collapse at any given time. For a very brief moment he had successfully call on the light side of the Force and managed to hold back the flood of emotions he was drowning in, building a dam, a cocoon inside his mind, in hope to buy some time and scare the assassin away. It had not taken long for the ice to crack under the fire burning inside him and his cool demeanor had left place to rage. Once more.

He was weak in this state, unable to channel the energy. He knew it. Too fragmented to fight properly. If he wanted to survive he needed the aid of the scavenger girl. No, not a scavenger girl anymore. Rey. It was her name though he could not say it. Yet.

He had pushed her off the dais, hoping she would run away, but the old man was craftier than he had given him credit for. They had never met but Ren did not need to see his face to know who he was. It was against policies to share and spread gossip and telltales among the ranks of the First Order but, despite Hux and Phasma's best efforts, the men and women serving under them were still humans and everybody, from the lowest cadet to the highest officer had heard stories about the man who could convince any parent in the galaxy to surrender their Force sensitive sons and daughters. The Force did not need the Jedi nor the Sith to produce Force sensitive individuals after all and it would be a crime not to harness their potential. Some parents simply needed more "convincing" than others.

The thought of Snoke sending him specifically to retrieve today's champion sent a shiver down his spine.

"The statues. Do you see them?"

"Yes"

Her lack of confidence was not encouraging.

"Topple them all."

"I can't do that!"

Damn you Skywalkwer! he thought. Rey, the scavenger girl who had entered his life like a meteor and altered the course of his destiny was more than capable to shatter some stone. Why did the Jedi feel the need to pull down, to tether the Force?

"Yes you can," he had responded, trying not to sound angry at her.

The intruder was trying to taunt him again. He should have ignored it but the interruption was distracting. "It does not matter as long as you finally shut your mouth!" he had finally exploded.

"How dare you? No! No! No!" Don't listen to him girl. I need your help! You hate him, he's everything you loath. You can't trust him."

It was true, she had no reason to trust him, he could feel her hesitation. Her emotions were too intimately tied to his own now. His own feelings felt numb in comparison. She did not hate him though. She was not bitter and broken enough to hate anyone. Not yet.

She was thinking. Fast. He could not hear her thoughts but he could be her . He had told her not to be afraid aboard the Finalizer, in the interrogation room. Reading minds was painful and he hated the reverberation effect. If she was afraid he was afraid too. It was not a pleasant sensation. Now that he was thinking about it, back then her fear was an inconvenience, a side effect he did not want to personally experience. "Don't be afraid. I feel it too". What an insensitive thing to say to a young woman strapped in a metal chair. Now he wanted her to feel safe, to protect her from the stranger but also from himself. It was a very confusing thought to digest.

"Don't think about it. Just do it."

She was getting annoyed with him now. She doubted herself and she doubted the Force. How could she possibly do the impossible?

He looked around, trying to come up with an alternative plan. Nothing came. His cognitive functions were impaired in that emotional state and they were short of options. He sighed and took a step back. The faux-jedi planted his eyes on him, trying to decipher what the Knight of Ren had in mind. It would not take long before he figured out he was bluffing and charge. Ren glowered back and slowly, carefully, closed down the distance with Rey.

When he stepped back into the circle of light he paused, still observing their attacker, and extended his unarmed hand to her.

"We're going to do it together. Give me your hand."

She gasped. Her revulsion to the suggestion hit like a punch to the stomach. She did not hate him, but she certainly did not associate his body with something she wanted to ever touch again. Images of his fingers squeezing at her throat flashed in his mind and he flinched. He did not know for how long he kept his arm extended like that but it felt like an eternity. In the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the man sneaking toward them. They needed to act fast before he get too close.

Ren turned off his lightsaber and grabbed Rey by the wrist. "We don't have time. You'll need to trust me," he tried to explain with all the assertiveness he was capable of mustering. With his right hand, still holding the shaft of his weapon, he pointed to two of the four statues. "You take these, I'll deal with those."

"Let go of me!" she roared because his grip was too tight. "You're hurting me".

He realized that, since their fight in the snow, he had not seen her up-close without his vision obscured by the mask. He should have looked away but he could not detach his eyes from her face. He hazel eyes still puffy, her flushed cheeks tear-streaked and her pink mouth twisted with anger. He let go, unable to withstand the guilt. Still angry she turned her attention to their common enemy.

His heart skipped a few beats when she took his hand in hers.

* * *

Together they could do it she thought. Little did she know that Ren was drained, exhausted and barely able to stand on his feet. Once her weapon was secured to her belt, she had taken his hand in hers.

The leather of his glove felt surprisingly smooth and soft under her fingers. Compared to the old crusty leather accessories she salvaged over the years on Jakku, his were supple, likely new and crafted from the finest materials. It was something silly to think about in their predicament, but she loved making things and knew how to appreciate good craftsmanship. Men and women worked hard to create the things he used and consumed in the First Order and Maz's words came to her mind. "I know the Force. It moves through and surround every living thing". She was connected to Ren in this instant but not just him. Every living creature in the galaxy is linked. That thought was powerful.

The first statue started to shake. The vibration reverberated from bottom to top and the stone cracked under the pressure. A wider crack opened at the base. It was working. She smiled a triumphant smile, her eyes bright with a mix of surprise and pride. Then she turned her attention to the second statue.

Ren had simply tried to channel the Force. Instinctively she had intertwined her mind with his and did the same. She was burning so bright inside his head it was blinding. He needed to consume some of her energy or he would pass out. Like Starkiller base absorbing the sun to power up its destructive weapon, Kylo Ren was syphoning Rey's Force before channeling it back to the statues. The stone fractured. The ceiling started to shake too, giving alarming signs it was about to cave in.

"The Supreme leader is not going to be happy about that kids!" the man said sharply. He knew to keep his distance and looked more concerned about avoiding falling objects and protecting himself from the rubble than attacking. The head of one of the hooded figure came crashing to his feet. He jumped backwards, barely avoiding being crushed, but the ground was treacherous and he lost his footing. He fell head first to the floor. Before he could move and stand up, a boulder fell on top of him, crushing his right leg. The noise of broken bones and torn skin was obscene. He cried out in pain and cursed.

"What do you think is going to happen now? She will never love you back! And you? You think he's on your side? He'll use you and then he'll betray you before crawling back to his Master! Mark my words you fools. You can't escape the First Order!"

His diatribe brought them back to reality. Absorbed in the demonstration of their shared power they were completely oblivious to the chamber crumbling around them. If they did not leave they would be crushed like ants too.

"We need to go!" Rey finally said, breaking contact.

As soon as she let go, Ren felt empty again. He was slowly regaining control over his own emotions but he could still feel hers. The warmth of her happiness took over and made him smile a coy smile.

His heart sank at the idea that she would soon understand she did not need him at all to accomplish any of this, that he had shown her how to do it, but the power had been hers all along.

He cast the thought aside and tried to concentrate on escaping. Rey was ahead of him. She had run to the stairways and climbed half the steps already. She stopped and turned around. For a reason she could not explain to herself she wanted to make sure he was following. In his weakened state he had trouble navigating the collapsing place. As he was going to reach the stairs his foot bumped into something metallic. He looked down, intrigued. Lying on the floor was the mask he had thrown earlier. She observed the scene with a hint of apprehension. He bowed, picked up the mask and brought it to eye level. She sighed and turned around sprinting to the exit.

Rey was running as fast as she can. Behind her the sound of crashing stone was deafening but she knew she was safe now. The hallway was not as scary as it was a few hours earlier. If she reached the entrance she would be free.

Then what? she thought. Would someone be waiting for her outside? Snoke even? Was he mad enough to come pick one of them himself? She stopped running and looked behind. It was dark and she could not see if Kylo Ren was following.

"Ky…" The name died on the tip of her tongue. She could not bring herself to call him like that. "Ren?" she finally whispered before calling out louder. He did not respond.

She did not know what to do. The best course of action was to run away but something at the back of her mind was urging her not to abandon him behind. She tried to ignore it and force herself to continue but it was useless.

They were connected. One way or the other. They had shared something. Something powerful, universal. Something that transcended who they were as individuals. It was a higher power of some sort and it bound all beings.

The face of General Organa appeared before her. Eyes swollen by grief, learning her only son was lost forever. Rey did not have a mother and had never considered becoming a mother herself but in this instant tears started streaming down her cheeks. She was thinking of all the mothers who had had their child ripped from their chests to become Stormtroopers, of all the little girls and boys orphans from the Rebel Alliance. Of the sad, mean, broken men and women some had become. Compassion was a strength, not a weakness. Kylo Ren was an idiot and a bastard but he was still Leia's son. She was kind to Rey, she deserved to have her son back. If it was still possible.

She was wiping her eyes and her nose with the back of her sleeve when she saw him approaching.

"Will you help me?" came a faint voice."I won't make it without you".

She was relieved when she saw he was not wearing his stupid mask anymore. When she realized he was still clutching at it she could not help but snort and roll her eyes.

He knew what she was thinking. He had contemplated leaving it behind but came to the conclusion he still needed it.

His complexion was paler than usual, if that was even possible, and he looked almost ghoulish. She put her arm under his shoulder to offer him support and they continued down the hallway in silence. When they reached the exit their bodies stiffened. Both were expecting a trap. Instead they were greeted by a violent gush of wind.

Two ships were parked outside the entrance of the tomb, Ren's own transporter, all black and sleek and imposing and a small shuttle, a little round thing painted beige and grey.

"Let's take this one" they said in unison, pointing at the strange looking spaceship. Rey flashed a surprise look at her companion.

"Hux will have planted a tracking device on mine," he explained, "knowing him, probably more than one," he added with a rictus. She did not know the man but she deduced him and Ren were not best friends.

They boarded the shuttle. It had enough seats for a pilot and a couple of passengers. It was not pretty but it was practical. Rey immediately jumped in the pilot seat and Ren did not seem to object. He dragged his long body to the back and strapped himself in one of the passenger seat.

"We're going to Jakku," she declared while turning on the engine. She expected Ren to argue and was prepared to rebuke every single points he was going to make about it being a terrible idea, and Jakku being a terrible place to begin with, but he just nodded and fell unconscious.

* * *

All she needed to do was to press a control and the stolen ship would take them to their destination. Instead she slipped from the pilot seat, moved to the back and approached Ren cautiously.

What was she going to do with him?

She knelt down and searched for his face, hidden behind messy locks of hair. He was fast asleep. Is this what evil looks like she wondered? Ordinary? Sensitive? Almost handsome? His eyes were moving fast behind his eyelids and his lips were trembling slightly. He was having dreams. She extended her right hand and resisted the urge to touch his cheek. She did not want to wake him up, she just wanted to see if she could get into his mind. It would be so easy while he was unconscious. It would be wrong too. After all, he had waited for her to regain consciousness before probing hers, she should return the favor.

She sat down and took her knees in her arms.

Before passing out he had agreed to come with her to Jakku, she wanted to know why. Why would anyone want to go back to Jakku she asked herself? Instead she could travel to the Resistance base and bring General Organa her son back. She could also run to Master Luke and explain what had happened today, what Snoke plans were. Maybe he would know what to do. She could also try to find Maz and seek her assistance since she seemed to know a great deal about the Force. Extraordinary was her run-of-the-mill lately but, even by her new standards, something weird had happened today. What she felt in that tomb, what she felt now... A part of her wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but she knew she could not afford to make any mistakes. Too much was at stake. It was not just her anymore.

She buried her head in her shoulders.

Today's mise-en-scène could be just that, an act, a very elaborate trick. What if Kylo Ren's plan was specifically to be brought before General Organa or Luke? What would happen then? Nothing could stop him to call in reinforcements and massacre every living being she had came to like, admire and respect. The energy they had shared earlier was phenomenal. He was incredibly powerful and gifted with the Force. He was also highly unstable and immature.

She still could not believe he was nine to ten years her elder. Poe Dameron had mentioned his age in passing on D'Qar. He was very elusive about the subject and seemed extremely reluctant to talk in front of the General but Rey had detected something. He was a very agreeable, if not very charming man, but he was not a very good liar. The way he had quickly changed the subject seemed to indicate they had met under very different circumstances.

She stood up as she was getting pins and needles and there was nothing more to ponder. Jakku was her safest option. On the arid surface she would have the upper hand no matter what. There are so many ways to die on Jakku if you do not know where you are going or what you are doing.

She went back to the pilot seat, pushed the control button and the stars transformed into rays.

A loud bang echoed when the shuttle entered the atmosphere. Ren jerked off the seat violently, disorientated. He tried to get up, unaware the seat belt was attached, and only managed to bump his head against the durasteel panel above him. Rey's range of emotions went from fright to relief to glee in less than a second and the whole experience left him a little bit dizzy. That the bond was not broken yet was an annoyance but a part of him was relieved to discover he could make her laugh. The next step was to make her laugh with him, not at him.

"Are we there yet?" he asked trying to sound his usual cool.

"Almost," she responded without looking back.

The straps came loose and he approached the cockpit. Without thinking about it he leaned forward to peek through the window screen, placing his right hand on the console and the left on the pilot seat, just above her shoulder.

Jakku was a pile of garbage, literally.

He had not come to this part of the planet during the retrieval operation and certainly never looked at the scenery. Now that the carcasses of the once great Imperial armada laid bare on the dunes before him he felt a knot in his stomach. Rey was getting nervous too. He looked down and saw her coy on the chair. Suddenly he realized her private space was being invaded.

He withdrew at the back of the shuttle and she relaxed instantly. He was conflicted. A part of him hated how jittery she was when he was getting close but another part relished at the idea he had such power over her.

He wondered how long this thing , this bond would last. He also wondered if...No. He blocked the mental image. It was below him and he felt ashamed of thinking such trivial things.

He was feeling much better, slowly regaining control over his own emotions. He wondered if she could feel the same. If the bond was mutual? If it was, how would that work? Would their emotions bounce back and forth between the two of them in an endless loop? Surely the Force was not that stupid. It had plans for them.

Absently he ran his hand through his hair. How long since he had done that? Come to think about it, since he stepped aboard the Finalizer a little more than six months ago, he was wearing the mask even in his quarters. He could do with a haircut.

He looked into the cockpit, searching for Rey. From this angle he could only see glimpses of the back of her neck and her hair. It was still childishly tied in three knots, like the first time they met. She was dirty, more sweat mixed with dust than skin. Most likely he looked a mess too. If Hux was there he would probably pinch his nose and look at the both of them with disgust. Phasma, on the other hand, would send them to the fresher before the rehabilitation center. Good hygiene was a staple of the First Order. Unkempt soldiers were rebellious soldiers.

He sat down, unsure of what to do next. He was never good at idle conversation. What about "Hey Rey, how is your neck? Sorry I squeezed so hard earlier"? Or "By the way, I also kidnapped your Master while we were on Ahch-To, thought you'd like to know."

No. Not a good conversation starter either. He knew he would have to tell her at some point. Maybe. Did it really matter anymore? If Snoke had retrieved him it was probably too late already. Now he needed to decide what to do on his own. His destiny had not changed, it had only taken an unexpected turn.

His attention suddenly focused on the scavenger. Something was troubling her. Not him (that was a relief). It was something on Jakku. The closer they were from their destination, the stronger her aversion grew.

"We're arrived," she said while preparing for landing.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky. He shielded his eyes and looked around, bewildered. They were in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing in sight except for the hulk of an old AT-AT lying on the sand. Instinctively, he grabbed the shaft of his lightsaber. Was she planning to abandon him here?

She tensed but did not reach for her weapon. "What are you doing?"

"I should ask the same," he responded wary. Maybe she had fooled him. "What are we doing here?"

"I live here."

Kylo Ren looked around, again. He did not was no house, no hut. Realization only hit him when she crawled and disappeared inside the derelict walker.

He stood there, unsure what to do. Was he supposed to follow?

He jolted and rushed when a long series of cussing erupted from the belly of the metal beast.

He knelt down and peeked inside. If the dwelling had once been hospitable, someone or something, had taken every precaution necessary to trash it completely. The floor was littered with metal scraps, shelves had been ripped of the walls and in the corner of the "room" what looked like a hammock hung only by a few threads, completely lacerated. Rey was too busy calling names to notice him. He finally crawled inside on all four, uninvited.

As he was making his way in, something orange, half buried in the sand caught his eyes. He dug up the object and looked at it closely. It was the makeshift doll of a Rebel Alliance pilot.

"Don't touch that!" she cried out, snatching the doll from his hands, only to toss it again on the floor, unceremoniously. She could not afford to be sentimental, not now. A wave of nostalgia tainted with despair engulfed him and he fought the urge to take her in his arms. It would only makes things worse. She wanted to cry but she could not. Not in front of him. Not now. She was tired, overwhelmed, hungry and her body ached in so many places but, in this moment, he was the last human being she wanted to be with her.

She would change her mind. Eventually. He would find a way.

"We need water and food. Then we will talk," she declared imperiously. Anything to keep her mind occupied. Dwelling on the past would accomplish nothing anyway. They had much to do.

"Is there anything of use aboard the ship you think? Food or water?"

"Maybe," he responded, distracted. He had just noticed a panel at the back, with numerous scratches carved in. She snapped her fingers in front of him to bring him back to reality. "Go look!"

The Master of the Knights of Ren was not used to be ordered around. His burning eyes pierced right through her. Rey flinched, wondering if he she had pushed her luck too far. They stared at each other in silence for a little too long, before he finally crawled back outside.

He came back a few moments later, with only a canteen of water. He did not know what she was looking for but she was frantically scanning the floor.

"That's all that I could find."

She examined the container. "This will last us three days".

Three days? He thought. He could gulp down more than that in less than a minute.

"We're not going to stay here three days, are we?" he said prudently.

"No we're not. We may already have been spotted and it might get dangerous to stay here too long."

An awkward silence followed. She finally found what she was looking for on the floor, a piece of metal flat and small enough she could use to unscrew one of the panels in what used to be the ceiling of the AT-AT. Her secret stash was there. Surviving involved having a contingency plan and she knew no one would be smart enough to ever think of looking there. Remembering why she needed to hide and stock food made her upset. Coming back to Jakku, so close to Unkar Plutt was a bad idea. She was not afraid. She just wanted to forget he ever existed and controlled every aspect of her life.

"Here is our dinner," she exclaimed, while tipping the content of a small bag on top of a board she had prepared. It was green and unappetizing.

Ren looked disinterested at the portions. He was very rarely hungry anyway. Asceticism was part of the Jedi way of life but changing side did not make him suddenly crave exotic food and liquor, on the contrary. He was eating out of necessity and like many other things people find pleasurable in life, he did not enjoy it particularly. Food was not the only thing he had cut himself from over the years.

"You can have it all," he said.

"You need to eat too," she responded a little bit aggravated. "There's too much for me anyway". It was a lie. He chose not to argue. The subject was obviously making her uncomfortable and now that he had witnessed her living conditions, he feared his attitude would be mistaken for rudeness. She would have been surprised to hear he genuinely cared about her predicaments.

It took her a few minutes to find her utensils. Several times she asked Ren to get out of her way.

"Can you go outside?" she had finally asked exasperated. "You're too big, you take all my space".

Finally alone, she looked around and sighed. Jakku was no longer her home. She wondered if that bastard of Unkar was still after her and how he would react if he discovered she was back. She poured every piece of vegmeat in the makeshift pan and prepared the sad meal she had been eating for fifteen years. Hopefully it was the last time she would ever cook that crap she thought, her hand clutching too tightly at the spatula.

* * *

Ren was sitting outside in the shadow of the half destroyed AT-AT, rocking gently, with his eyes closed and his arms around his knees. His boots and gloves had been tossed away and his feet were firmly planted in the ground, his toes buried in the sand. If she did not know better he looked like he was enjoying himself.

"The novelty fades away quickly," she snorted while sitting next to him. "Soon, you'll hate that stuff." She placed his plate in-between them before taking a bite from her own dish.

"I could kill him for you," he finally said, his eyes still closed.

She tried to hide her surprise but failed miserably.

"What are you talking about? Are you in my head again?" She exclaimed.

"No, I don't need to," he responded monotonously "I've been feeling it all since we arrived. Your discomfort when thinking of him. Unless it's a she?"

He was studying her now and she could not move or speak anymore.

"I think it's a he. I can feel the nausea, the hatred, the knot inside your belly every time you think of him. I'm serious. I could kill him for you."

"I...That's...not what I want." She was usually so articulate and confident but she felt at a loss of words there.

"Why not?" he asked, planting his eyes on her, truly interested in her opinion.

For the first time she noticed the outer rim of his iris was slightly lighter than the inside.

"You don't just get rid of what annoys you!" she finally blurted out. "What kind of twisted logic of yours is that?" she added and he was not sure if she was annoyed or disappointed.

"Why not? If he's bad enough to make you feel that way, I don't think anyone will miss him."

"But you don't just kill people because you don't like them or because they don't agree with you!"

He laughed.

"What's funny? She asked unnerved.

"You."

"What? What is?" she was getting frustrated and tried to regain her cool by focusing on her plate. She would not give him the pleasure to fall into his trap. All he wanted was to confuse her, to mess with her head.

"You're like the rest. You have these big ideas and those great ideals but you'll betray them at the first occasion. Twisted logic you say? At least I'm consistent with my belief. Unlike you."

He leaned in a little closer.

"I haven't forgotten that you tried to kill me the first time we met. You didn't even know who I was, nor what I wanted, and yet, you aimed to kill."

Her eyes widen up.

"So keep your morals and your judgments to yourself scavenger. I grew up with stories of heroics deeds, of Death stars destroyed and evil conquered. I was told that life and freedom are sacred and worth fighting for but what happened as soon as the Empire collapsed? Politicians, conglomerates, bankers ruined it all. Getting rich, fat, exploiting the weak. What did the New Republic do for your world? Nothing! They let your kind starve and be oppressed by a slimy excuse of a life form. You think you're free, but your freedom tastes like this sand. It's built on lies, murders and treason."

"And what's the First Order done that was so much better?" she blurted out. "You kill anyone who doesn't agree with you." She paused, trying to control her emotions "You destroyed five planets? Five! And for what?"

He grabbed her by the shoulders, his body tense and ready to strike.

"I never wanted that," he hissed back. "Get in my mind if you don't believe me! I have nothing to hide."

"No! I won't do that. I don't need to get into your head."

"And why not?" he retorted." You have the power, why would you not use it?" Is it Skywalker? Did he tell you to be afraid of who you are, what you can do?"

He knew he was clutching at her shoulders a little too tight, but he did not care.

"It doesn't matter anymore! He's gone now. Him and his stupid views on the Force!"

Rey's expression suddenly changed. She was not angry, she was curious.

"What do you mean?"

Ren released his grip and stood up. He walked a few steps in direction of the shuttle and froze. He did not want to look at her but he did not want to leave either. With his bare foot he kicked the sand like a petulant child.

"You were not the only target. My men have him."

He paused. He expected her to get on her feet and attack him from behind but instead she stayed silent.

"Where have you taken him?"

He turned around, shaking with rage. He needed to scream at her, make her react. "If you want the information, come and get it!" He could not bear seeing her so calm, stone-faced. He wanted her to slap him, to punch him, to hate him. He wanted her to see who he really was and to hate him. Hate was better than indifference.

"Is it important to you that I extract the information from you?" she finally asked, impassioned.

He straightened up. He did not understand the question.

"I don't care about Skywalker. You do! It makes no difference to me if you manage to discover where he's being held. Snoke will probably have him by now."

"Good riddance!" he added after a pause.

She stood up and brushed her clothes to remove the sand. She had forgotten how much she hated the stuff. It was invading every aspect of your daily life on Jakku, grinding your teeth when mixed with your food, bruising your skin when the winds were getting too strong, menacing to bury your home every day. She hated sand but she did not hate Kylo Ren. It was the strangest epiphany of the day.

She started to walk toward the shuttle-craft. "You don't really believe that yourself, do you?"

"Where are you going?" he asked. It sounded more anguished, more pleading than what he intended to.

She kept walking and responded "I'm going to send a message to the resistance with our current coordinates. Then you will tell me where Luke is and once my friends are here we will go retrieve him. With or without you."

If it was an order he could not tell. It looked as if his burst of anger had severed the bond. Since he had lost control over his own emotions he was unable to feel hers. He made a ball of his fists, his knuckles whitened, and punched his skull hard. Once, twice. He lost count. What had he done? If he had lost the ability to read her emotions he did not know what he would do.

He was still standing in the middle of nowhere, his black robes caked with sand floating in the evening wind, bare feet, his face twisted by grief when Rey climbed out of the shuttle. She approached slowly and took his hand in hers.

"If we're going to do this, we're going to do it my way. Come."

He had calmed down a little and could not help but feel foolish. He was older than her, but in this instant he was surrounded by a serenity and a maturity older than times. She was not angry, annoyed or repulsed by him, she had compassion for him. Real compassion. It made his head dizzy.

She lead him to where she had left their plates. They had not eaten their food, what a waste she thought. The sun was sun-setting in the sky but they were on Jakku, they still had at least two good hours of sunlight. The temperature was getting better too. It was the best part of the day, right before the night. Nights on Jakku were freezing and they would have to take shelter soon enough. She wanted to be done before the dark.

She sat on her heels, with her hand still holding his, and brought him closer to her level.

"Put you head on my knees," she said, tapping her lap with her free hand.

He froze. That's not what he had in mind.

She could not read his thoughts but his face was certainly easy enough to decipher when he was not wearing the mask.

"I imagine the First Order instruction books are telling quite a different story but I can't imagine mind probing requires the subject to be strapped in a metal chair," she said jokingly.

"If that's the case you're out of luck, I'm not running to Niima Outpost to see if someone salvaged one."

He really felt like an idiot. He should have run away, insulted her, attacked her even. She was treating him like a child when he was not. He should not let her treat him like that, with...kindness. He looked at her. The invitation was tempting. He did not have to hide with her. No one could see them, they could be whomever they wanted to be.

As instructed he put his head on her lap, lying on his side.

The world looked so different from that angle. He could see far to the horizon, he could see the heat waves dancing above the ground, distorting reality.

She put her hand through his hair, combing it with her fingers in a tender gesture. She imagined it would be something soothing, something nice. She would like someone to do that to her if she was sad, angry or scared.

"Will it hurt?" she asked, concerned.

"No, not really." He responded quietly. "It only hurts because people resist. They think we're interested in their petty secrets, that we're going to expose their little lies. We wouldn't have to if they were honest from the start. "

"Who are we ?" She questioned him.

"You, me. Those with the ability. They fear us because we are better, chosen."

"Chosen by whom?" she was puzzled by his responses but even more by his cooperation.

"If you're going to read my mind, you should do it properly," he chuckled. "You can't just ask questions and have me spill my guts out. Also you know by what . You feel it too. You've always been better than everybody else on this forsaken planet. You just refuse to admit it."

Her stroking stopped for an instant. She was reflecting on what he had just said.

"We're nothing alike." She finally replied. There was no animosity or reproach in her voice.

He bit his tongue. It was better to let it go for now. She firmly believed what she just said and they would have more opportunities to discuss it. He was sure about that.

"How does it work exactly? I don't know what I did the last time."

He flipped on his back, adjusting his body on her lap so he could see her face.

"Do you want to do it? Then just do it. There's no manual, no instruction. Techniques, maybe, but it's mostly instinct. It's like those statues earlier. As soon as you believed you could move them, you did it."

She stared at him.

"It worked because we shared the flow of energy. I would not have been able to do it without you."

His eyebrow raised slightly. He really wanted to lie and say she was right, that she needed him around. If he did he would be no better than the likes of Skywalker. He chose to simply tell the truth.

"I did nothing. All of it, it came from you. I just…" he stopped. "If you really want to know, see for yourself," he teased.

If it was not for the scar, he looked very much like Han Solo when he smirked. She flashed a coy smile in return. She missed the debonair old smuggler.

As instructed, she relaxed and entered his mind.

It was as he told her. There was no pain, no discomfort. He simply opened up his mind and she slithered within. It was like nothing else she had experienced before, being inside someone, not just on the surface. It was a little overwhelming at first but also exciting, intoxicating.

Ren's memories were scattered around like broken shards.

"How do I access the information I'm looking for?" she asked while stroking his hair absentmindedly.

Ren softened. "I used to imagine memories are holo-vids," he responded, pleasantly surprised she was requesting his guidance. "You can picture anything. With time it will become easier to browse and find what you are looking for."

Now that their minds were intertwined, he could not peel his eyes off her. Her energy pulsated inside him like wild fire, chasing the shadows away. When he closed his eyes, her presence felt like a beacon, filling the void he had known all his life.

He felt stronger with her.

He thought of the Supreme leader. How disappointed he likely was with him. Kylo Ren was dead inside a crumbling tomb and would never become what Snoke had foreseen. He had succumbed, unable to resist the appeal of the light, losing himself in the process.

He also thought of the woman who birthed him, still waiting for a boy she had sent away. Ben was gone and would not come back. He wondered who he was now, who he would become. It did not matter at this moment in time, because as long as Rey was with him, he was complete.

He never wanted to let her go.

Rey drew a long breath and focused. She needed to make sense of her surroundings in order to navigate the labyrinth of Ren's mind. She closed her eyes and pictured what she knew best, what she had explored for fifteen, long, solitary, years: the inside of a wrecked destroyer.

It worked.

 _Now, around her were pieces of salvage, machines to be picked apart and reconstructed, holos and memorabilia left to rot, discarded. She pictured a corridor with panels claimed by time and rust, exposed to the elements and worn away by sand. Her journey began next to the breach in the hull. She had seen dozens of starships brought down to the surface in similar fashion, with gaping wounds in their sides. A door was open on her left, she entered the room. It was a recent memory, the memory of a man standing on his own on the deck of a starship. There were other men and women around him but he did not seem to notice them at all. Consoles were flashing and beeping as controls were pressed and excitement was spreading among members of the First Order personnel. They were making history today. It would be a major victory! The figure, clad in black, looked at the scene immobile. Rey approached him, wondering what he was thinking._

"Can I take off your mask?" she asked to the real man lying on her lap.

"You can try," he responded perplexed. He had never tried to manipulate memories or ideas the way she suggested and grew curious as if it was even possible.

 _She stepped in closer. For some unknown reason she placed a hand on his shoulder, and circled around him the way an interested party would examine a droid at an auction house. The man in the memory did not react to the touch, he stood completely still, frozen in time._

 _She stood on tip-toe and searched for the release latch on the mask. It came off easily._

 _Rey gasped at the sight. Kylo Ren was crying. It was not the sobbing, sniveling cries of a child, it was the silent agony of a man who cannot stray from the path he had chosen. Rey collected tears on the tip of her finger and brought them to her lips. She winced. The Force demanded sacrifices to be made and men and women, like him, to do its bidding._

"You think of the Force like it controls our lives. Like we can't decide for ourselves?"

Without his mask on to hide his emotions Ren was painfully easy to read. No one had ever looked at her with such adoring eyes before and she was unable to say if it was making her extremely uncomfortable or flattered. The way he looked at her reminded her of Unkar Plutt sometimes. It did not make her stomach turn the same way though. There was something else in Ren's eyes. A promise, a commitment. He was truly amazed by her abilities; and the lonely little girl from Jakku, who had never been praised nor received encouragement in her life, felt her cheeks turn pink. She wondered if she would ever get used to the intensity of his gaze.

"It does. You know it does."

"No, I don't believe that," she said with false confidence, trying to convince herself more than anybody else.

She switched her attention back to the destroyer.

 _There was another door, to the right this time. It did not open automatically but, as soon as she placed her hand on the touchpad on the side panel, it came to life. She recognised the man strapped on the metal chair, it was Poe. Except it was no man, it was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen. Despite the circumstances he was smiling that suave, cheeky smile only popular teenage kids can pull off when they are caught being naughty. A younger version of Kylo Ren was facing him. He was dressed like a padawan and looked upset._

 _Rey stepped in to listen to their conversation._

 _"You know I can hurt you. Why pretend?"_

 _"Because it's funny to wind you up Ben."_

 _"We're not kids anymore. Don't test my patience, I grew more powerful that you can even imagine. Give me the information and -maybe- I'll let you live."_

 _"No." The younger version of Poe responded before flashing an arrogant smile._

 _"You will regret these words, Dameron" the padawan hissed before raising a hand._

Poe started screaming and Rey covered her ears, horrified.

"Why are you showing me these things? These are not your memories."

"They are. What you see is my truth."

She started to understand.

"So you knew Poe from before! And you still tortured him?"

"He's the enemy and we're at war. Do you think I was recruited to serve tea?" he snickered.

"So, that's what you'd planned for me?" she asked, disturbed.

"No. I had no reason to wish you harm. I just needed the map."

"But, I was the enemy."

"No," he responded almost gently, "you were a mystery. It is you who decided to become my enemy."

She stopped stroking his hair. "Where is Luke anyway? I'm not going to go through all your life to find him. Just tell now! I've done what you wanted of me."

"I'm not going to say anything anymore scavenger. If you want the information extract it yourself." He already missed the contact of her fingers on his scalp. "You will learn soon enough that you cannot count on Luke or the Resistance to get anything done. If you want to do something, do it yourself."

Rey snorted. Ren was capricious and fickle and she wanted to get out of his head as soon as possible. Before she found something she did not want to see, or worse, before she realized she enjoyed messing with people's minds like he did.

* * *

Rey was stubborn, but so was he. He could forgive her lack of refinement; she had been isolated for so long on this forsaken planet, but he would not respond to her questions anymore.

She needed to learn. To understand. Instead he rolled over, clumsily put his arms around her waist and buried his face in her belly. She was so thin he was afraid she would break if he held tighter. She was strong though. Strong with the force but also strong willed and athletic.

He closed his eyes. He could hear the gurgling sounds emanating from her stomach. It brought back some very old memories. Memories of halcyon days, when Leia Organa was his mum. She was always away, angry, busy, but sometimes she would surprise him and let him stay with her in her study. There, when they were finally alone and she had no more reports to read or sign or write, she would take him in her arms and tell him stories of how she, his dad and Uncle Luke met. When he was tired he would put his ear on her tummy and imagine a strange ocean inside her, an ocean with crashing waves and whirlpools.

Rey was not his mother. Her inside world sounded more like a growling beast ready to pounce. He put his hand on her back tentatively. She did not flinch, she did not even seem to notice at all, so he applied a little bit more pressure and brought her body closer to him. She was all he could hear now.

* * *

Rey was lost in the corridor and the further she walked, the darker it became. There were so many doors and she needed to find Luke. She closed her eyes in both the real world and the world of Kylo Ren. If she trusted the Force, maybe it would guide her steps and show where she needed to go.

 _She took one step, two, three...and fell. If it was a dream it would be the part where she woken up covered in sweat, but it was no dream and instead she ended up in a room with no windows, just rows of empty seats and in the middle an elevated platform, a dais resembling the one in the sepulcher they had escaped a few hours before. She looked around, there was no one else, not even Kylo Ren. Suddenly the blue aura of a giant holo flicked on. A humanoid figure of grotesque appearance appeared and looked right through her. It was sitting on a throne._

 _"Ah, my apprentice. You brought me the girl."_

 _"That's not a memory either", she lamented, looking around for a way to get out._

 _The holo quivered and the figure leaned forward to get a better look at her. An awful grin appeared on his face and with a wave of the hand he disappeared. "You can go now."_

 _Rey was confused but she did not have time to ponder what this was all about. She needed to find a way out._

 _She scanned the room until she noticed a door behind her. It was ajar but something was not quite right, it was completely jammed. She pulled as hard as she could to crack it open. All she needed was a little more space to squeeze in but despite her best efforts, it did not bulge._

 _Rey was going to ask why he was resisting, if there was something he did not want her to see, when something attracted her attention. Someone was standing in the corridor. She paused and listened. Everything was quiet._

 _The face of a boy of about ten appeared in the gap. He was standing immobile behind the door, observing Rey. "Hello there" she heard herself say. He looked like the padawan of her earlier vision, but as she observed more closely, she noticed his clothes were different, his looks softer, he had dark hair and bright intelligent hazel eyes. A big smile appeared on his face before he pressed a button on a control panel on his side of the door and ran off before Rey could say anything. She was free._

"Who's the boy? Was it you?" she asked the real Ren. He did not move, his head still buried in her belly. Somehow he did not need more information to know whom she was talking about.

"It's my son."

She did not understand why, but his muffled answer came as a shock, like a cold bucket of water spilled over her head. She immediately withdrew from his head. The idea that, somewhere, some time ago, a woman had laid with Kylo Ren and conceived a child with him made her queasy. She certainly did not want to see a glimpse of that. Not now.

"Where is he?" she asked despite herself.

Ren rolled over and adjusted himself so he could rest on his elbow and look at her properly. His gaze was still intense but there was a hint of tenderness in it. Was he thinking of the boy? The way he observed her like this made her heart beat faster and she could not explain why.

"He's with his mum," he responded plainly after a short silence.

She was compelled to ask more but she resisted the urge. It was his business after all. She should not pry into his private life, however tantalizing it was. There were more important matters to attend.

Luke. She had almost forgotten about him!

"Will you tell me where Luke is?"

He tilted his head, visibly disappointed by the change of subject. She could tell from his expression that he was debating whether to be difficult or insufferable. Whatever the response, she knew she was not going to like it.

"No."

Still a petulant child after all. She started regretting playing along and being nice to him. She was going to argue and smack some sense in to him but he placed a finger on her lips to prevent her from speaking.

"I'll come with you."

She was stunned. It was not the answer she expected.

He sat up straight by her side, resting his arms on his knees before she could interrogate him further. He looked totally different now, calmer, at peace. The sun was almost gone now and the temperature was dropping. He put his hand through his hair and kept it there.

"What happened, what you saw in my head. You can't tell your friends."

Rey snorted. "I don't think they…" she started.

"It's not that. They won't understand," he interrupted.

"I will do what I want, thank you very much," she retorted a bit annoyed. She was not going to let him decide what she should or should not do. Not now. Not ever.

He smirked. "It's just a friendly advice. You can certainly do whatever you want. You learn quick padawan , you'll understand soon enough why these matters should not be discussed with non Force sensitive people." He did not want to sound dismissive but he wanted to make his opinion heard.

He got up on his feet, gathered his boots and gloves and walked to the shuttle.

"What are you doing?" she asked abashed. She did not like the way he had used the word padawan. In his mouth it sounded like an insult, or worse, like if he was addressing his own apprentice. Come to think of it, she probably had learnt more from a few hours spent in his company than a couple of months with Luke Skywalker...It was a disturbing thought.

"I'm going to sleep," he simply responded. She did not know what to do. She looked at what used to be her home and shivered. She could not bear the thought of spending even one more night alone in that thing.

"Wait!" She sprung on her feet and walked quickly to him. "I can't let you stay in the shuttle alone," she blurted out. She felt the need to justify her reasoning. "You might try to contact the First Order."

They stood there in the sunset for a few seconds. He did not need to read her mind to know what she really was thinking in this instant. "As you wish," he simply responded before walking away. He could have teased her or confronted her about her true desires but he chose not to. He did not want to embarrass her. There was nothing embarrassing about being afraid of being lonely.

"I'm claiming the pilot seat!" she cheered before sprinting to the ship.

* * *

 _"I'm very impressed with you Kylo Ren. The girl is starting to trust you. Bring her to me and your loyalty will be rewarded. I apologize for not seeing it earlier. No harm will come to her, you have my word. "_

Ren jolted awake. He had suppressed the sensation of Snoke roaming his dreams and forgotten how alien his presence felt when he was manifesting himself in such fashion. Nowadays the supreme leader did not need to watch over him like the naive boy he used to be. He touched his forehead, he was clammy and felt lightheaded. He needed some fresh hair. The lights of the shuttle-craft were dimmed to a minimum, the orange glow just enough to navigate to the control panel. He peeked inside the cockpit before pressing the opening button with his open hand. Rey was fast asleep. She had insisted to stay in the pilot seat, huddle up with her lightsaber "Just in case". He reckoned their bond was strengthened but her trust would not come easy.

It was pitch black outside and if not for the howling wind Jakku was as silent as deep space. Ren looked up at the sky. He did not know the name of the constellations visible from this pitiful planet. He peeled off his clothes until the cold air bite his skin and meditated until the sun rose.

* * *

Rey woke up with an ache in her neck. She was still clutching at her lightsaber the way she used to hug her doll when she was a little girl, afraid of the dark and plagued by nightmares. Sleeping in the leather seat of a spaceship was not as comfortable as she envisioned, yet, all things considered, she had a good night sleep. She looked through the window screen of the cockpit. The sun was rising, meaning that soon enough the temperature would become unbearable.

She did not need to scan the rest of the shuttle to know that Ren was gone. Yet, there was no reason to become alarmed. He was nearby. She knew it. She could feel him in the Force. Her awareness was growing stronger with each passing day. If it was a good or a bad thing, it remained to be seen…Life as a scavenger was hard, boring and lonely, life as Force user was no better. It only came with more rations of responsibilities and a slice of disappointment on the daily menu.

If it was not for General Organa and Master Luke she would probably let Kylo Ren rot on Jakku for a while.

She ogled the control panel. The temptation was strong. She could steal the shuttle and leave everything behind: Jakku, Unkar Plutt, Kylo Ren, the Force... She never asked to become a Jedi in the first place, she had simpler dreams as a child, simpler needs. All she ever wanted was her family to come back. But Maz was right, her family had abandoned her. It was pointless denying the truth any longer. They had left her behind on a dusty, barren planet, in the hands of a sleazy, scummy "businessman". She had seen so much more of the galaxy in recent days. There were so many planets to chose from, some green, some blue, some tropical, some cold, anywhere was better than Jakku! Who would leave their child behind? Who could?

She stretched, took a deep breath and smiled to herself to chase the bad thoughts away.

 _"You must let go of your emotions."_

Today was going to be a good day! The Resistance was coming, Kylo Ren would lead them to Master Luke and General Organa would be reunited with her son and her brother. If they could turn Ren against the First Order they even had a chance to end the war!

Really, she had no reasons to be sad, angry or mad. Her pesky feelings did not matter at all. She had a duty to her friends, to the Resistance to an extent. They were her family nowadays.

Yet, she had trouble letting go today. When she was caught in the downward spiral as a teenager she would usually spend her day training on her console or scavenging in the most dangerous parts of fallen destroyers, where no one venture for fear of disasters. She needed to clear her mind, do something.

The door of the shuttle was open. She stepped into the desert and was struck by the heat. Nothing compared to the sensation of feeling your body slammed to the ground whenever you venture from the dark to the light on Jakku. She protected her eyes and searched for Ren. She spotted him in the distance and cursed. Had he gone completely mad since yesterday?

"What are you doing?" she shouted in his direction. From where she was standing she could see he was sitting in a meditative stance, with his bare back turned to her, cooking in the sun. Angry that her question was only met with silence, she started walking in his direction. She had much to say about his complete lack of modesty and idiotic behaviour, yet the reprimands died in her throat as she got closer. His clothes were lying on the sand, discarded, and it appeared that the Knight of Ren was completely naked from top to bottom. It was not the incongruity of his naked flesh that rendered her speechless though. No one could suspect that, under his clothes, he was hiding implants.

She had seen Luke's mechanical hand but this was something completely different. From behind all she could see was a tight black leather harness enveloping his right shoulder and elbow. It was tied under the left armpit by a series of thin straps.

"Admiring your handiwork?" he asked in a monotonic voice. He flexed his arm to demonstrate how the mechanism worked. From that angle she glimpsed wires and pistons crawling under his skin. "I didn't want to lose the hand so the medical team came up with...an original design."

"What are you doing?" she simply responded in an effort to conceal her stupefaction. It was her who slashed his face and shoulder to the bone, she did not need a reminder. Not that she felt sorry for doing it, Ren deserved more severe punishment for hurting her friends. Her only regret was to used the dark side.

"If you stay in the sun like that you'll get blisters tomorrow." All sorts of epithets came to her mind but she refrained calling him names. She needed his cooperation until further notice.

He snickered. "Are you really interested in my well being or are you afraid I won't help you? Fear leads to anger you know..." There was a certain cruelty in the way he spoke that made her flinch. She was getting nervous, fidgety, Ren could feel it. He wanted it that way. She should be afraid around him.

"Why do you want me to be afraid?" she shot back.

Her patience was growing thin and they had no time for charades. She had agreed to get inside his head, to be nice and caring like his mother would be, like no one had ever been to her , hoping he would come to his senses. The Resistance would be here soon. He did not deserve any more crumb of her compassion. If she had to extract the location of Luke from his head, so be it, she would give him a taste of his own medicine. She would dig until he had no secrets, she would claw at his core and made him cry for mercy.

At these words she felt a shift in him, right before he jumped to his feet and turned around to face her, his eyes wide, not in surprise but mad with joy. The acknowledgement of a shared secret.

Her heart skipped a few beats seeing him like that .

She tried to hide her embarrassment by looking away. She had seen a lot of things in her life but a naked man was not on the list. He closed the distance between them in just a few steps and stopped inches from her, leaving her no choice but to look up. The only way to avoid meeting his delirious gaze would be to turn around, to run away. She would not give him the pleasure. She would not shy away, not today, not ever.

His pale body was covered with scars -old and new- and freckles, a lot of them. She looked at his right arm more attentively and noticed an intricate network of tubes, wires and pistons piercing the skin, right under the collarbone and inside his forearm. It looked unnecessary painful.

"Snoke wants you," he finally said, studying her face. "But I won't let him have you."

He suddenly sounded awfully anxious and she wondered if he remembered he was naked.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"He talked to me, in my dreams. He asked me to bring you to him, that he would forgive me and that no harm would come to you."

She laughed. Not because the story was funny, but because she knew he was not inventing any of this. It was preposterous. It was mad. Yet, it was all true.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because it's no use to lie to you, is it?"

She desperately tried to keep a straight face. She was painfully aware of what he wanted to hear.

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you don't feel it."

Her silence betrayed her more than words. She did not know what to say. Maybe he was right. Maybe they could not escape their destiny.

She blinked twice. The first time they had been so close, right before she slashed his face, she had felt a part of him becoming a part of her.

"What are you going to do?" she finally asked.

"I really don't know. That's why you need to train."

She cocked her eye. The softness of his tone contrasted with the absurd notion of the words he spoke.

"You need to be able to defeat me next time we fight," he added, hoping to make more sense.

"Next time?" she scoffed. "Sounds to me that you've already made up your mind."

He shook his head "No."

Once again she knew he was telling the truth. It was infuriating. She wanted to punch him and tell him to pick up a side already, to stop acting like a self absorbed child, to stop toying with her. Her fists balled up in frustration.

He leaned toward the pile of clothes lying at her feet. She should have moved aside and give him some privacy. It would have been the polite way to do, the proper way. Instead she observed him dressing up. She was not embarrassed anymore. She had seen more than skin.

"Keep that anger for our fight. You can use it," he announced casually, while putting his black leather pants back on.

"What if I don't want to fight?" she replied with a hint of insolence.

"Then I'll walk the easy path. I'll bring you to Snoke and I'll take you as my apprentice. If he allows it."

"The easy way you say? The easy way would be to go back to your family! To your mother!"

Something in him changed at this word. She felt overwhelmed by a strange combination of anger, resentment and love.

"She needs you. She wants you despite all your crimes!" she continued, angry. There were so many slurs she wanted to throw at him. Instead, tears of bitterness and frustration filled her eyes.

"Never mention my family," he hissed back. "Did you imagine I would follow you to wherever the pathetic Resistance is playing hide and seek afterrescuing your Master?" he quizzed her. "Because I never agreed to that."

She could feel his temper rising up and something equally powerful growing in the pit of her stomach. She raised her hand and channeled the Force into a powerful blow. He barely reacted to the shock.

"You use the word Master like you use Padawan. As an insult. Yet you would rather crawl back to Snoke, your "Supreme leader", rather than to look to your own mother in the eyes and beg forgiveness?" she was not trying to hide her contempt any longer. He was weak, foolish, unworthy.

"Not everyone is lucky enough to be abandoned," he sneered.

At these words he felt to his knees, slammed to the ground by an invisible power.

"Good!" he exclaimed. "Channel your anger."

"Stop that!" she shouted back, suddenly aware of what she was doing. She did not want to fall into his trap. She refused to follow him in the dark.

He straighten up and passed his hand through his hair.

"Did you survive on this shit hole by farting rainbows?"

The bantering remark took her completely by surprise. Despite herself, she laughed.

"What?" she managed to articulate.

"Oh, you probably don't know what a rainbow is," he added, mimicking a pedantic coruscanti accent.

"I know what a rainbow is!" she reacted, making a face. I just haven't seen one, she thought to herself.

"Well then. Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you survived this long by not having emotions? By not being angry, upset, hopeful?"

She knew where he was going with that. She was not sure if she wanted (if she needed ) to hear it today.

"I'm teaching you how to defend yourself. Against me. I'm not recruiting for the Dark side, if that's what you're thinking."

She simply stared at him in silence, trying to think of a clever comeback. She hated how he made her feel. Creatures ought to be scary. Not making jokes and trying to be witty.

He spun on himself in a dramatic gesture. "We'll start with a simpler exercise. The walker."

Ren had her full attention now. He nudged at the bond between them to tune himself to her frequency. He could feel her interest, mixed with curiosity. She was so eager to learn new things, master new techniques. It made her happy. Before he knew it a smile formed at the corners of his own lips.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked

"I want you to disassemble it. Make it a pile of junk."

"Can you do that with the Force?"

He closed down the distance between them and came to stand right by her side.

"There's nothing you can't do. You're only limited by yourself. Soon you'll need to make your own lightsaber. It's the same technique. But backwards."

His teaching methods were lacking of pedagogy to say the least but Rey did not need much instructions when she had direct access to his mind.

She focused and imagined a blueprint of the AT-AT, every bolt, every screw, every durasteel panel, all connected together. She imagined all parts becoming loose, moving independently from one another. The hulk of her former home started quivering under her invisible touch, before collapsing in the sand in a pile of scraps. She could not believe her eyes. She turned to Ren with a proud grin on her face. How incredible was that? The smile and tender gaze he shot her back made her blush. She wanted her own master to look at her this way, not her enemy. Her smiled disappeared. Luke would not approve of her using her powers like this. It was not proper. It was not the ways of the Jedi.

As she was moving away from him, trying to create a distance between the two of them, he lifted his right hand swiftly, and, with a skillful gesture, snatched her hair tie. Long dusty strands of hair fell on her shoulder as the lowest of her hair buns was gone.

"Hey!" she cried out as she saw he was tying his own hair into a low bun on the top of his head.

"Your next exercise will be to get it back," he declared.

She was going to jump on him and teach him what happens to thieves on Jakku, when the humming of a ship engine disrupted the silence of the desert.

The resistance was approaching.

* * *

A transporter docked nearby. It was a medium sized heavy carrier, built for war. Rey could not contain her excitement any longer; she ran to meet its occupants.

Seeing her running away from him scorched Ren's heart. He remembered the words of the assassin. She will never love you . It was true, she would never love him the way he wanted someone to love him. He stood no chance to win her as long as the members of the Resistance were alive. He clenched his fists and severed the connection between them. She did not need to know the depth of his jealousy and hatred for her friend the traitor.

"Time to pack, I see," he said coldly while disappearing inside the stolen shuttle.

Rey did not need for the transporter's hatch to open to know who was waiting behind it. She readied herself. Too long had passed since they had seen each other. They had so much to catch up! She wanted to hear everything about his recovery and how things were going on D'Qar at the Resistance base. Had Poe taught him how to pilot an X-wing? How was BB-8 and its master doing? What was the General's reaction when she heard Kylo Ren was coming home?

The trapdoor was agonizingly slow to open, unless it was her who was too impatient.

"Rey!"

"Finn!"

She would have run and fly into his arms if he was not flanked by twenty heavily armed Resistance fighters. She should have known they would not be alone, this was no ordinary mission after all. She admonished herself for imagining it would be a happy reunion. a simple extraction.

Finn saw her hesitation and heartbreak. He broke from the group of soldiers and ran to her. She noticed mentally that he was still wearing Poe's leather jacket and it made her smile, though it had been roughly patched. Being in each other's arms felt familiar and comforting. They hugged for a very long time and broke contact with reluctance.

"How are you doing?" he heard himself asking, looking for her face. She was the same Rey he had met on Jakku, except for a little something in her eyes. Finn could not quite put the finger on it. It was subtle. A sadness, a gravity that was not there before.

"Are you okay? He asked, pointing at the strands of hair falling on her shoulders. "Where is Kylo Ren? Did you hurt him?" He lowered his voice, "tell me you hurt him."

"No!" she said laughing, "I mean yes I'm okay and he's fine. I think. He's in the shuttle."

At these words Finn turned around and gestured something to his men, who immediately responded to his orders. They ran past them and took position, encircling the small ship's entrance.

"Finn, I don't think it's necessary," she tried to explain. She did not mean that Ren would cooperate, just that this small amount of men armed with blasters would not be able to take down Kylo Ren. Yet, the young man looked puzzled at the remark.

"I have my orders Rey. But don't worry, the General wants him alive, if possible. We can leave this forsaken place as soon as possible and go back to a rendezvous point".

Rey's expression changed.

"What is it Rey?" he asked, suspecting he was not going to like the answer.

"We can't go back now, we still need Kylo Ren. We need him to find Luke."

Finn's mouth dropped open, he could not believe what he was hearing.

"Do we need him in one piece for that?" he tried to joke. Rey glared at him, she knew he was only trying to make her feel better but it was no joking matters. "Sorry, I couldn't help it," he added in a boyish voice.

"What are we going to do then?" he inquired. Rey was going to reply when they heard the noise produced by twenty weapons raised in the air at the same time.

They gasped in unison. A tall figure, cloaked in black from tip to toe, had emerged from the little ship and was walking imperiously in their direction, totally indifferent to the soldiers and their weapons.

Finn clenched his fists at the vision. He had not forgotten how Kylo Ren had toyed with him before slicing him up, leaving him for dead in the snow. If it was not for Rey he would have died on Starkiller base.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," a digitalized voice resonated, "we're going to rescue Luke Skywalker."

{Part 1 - Fin}


End file.
